Question 61·Easy·Text Structure and Purpose
Many museum objects deteriorate when exposed to light. Conservators therefore seek ways to display artifacts while minimizing damage. One approach relies on 'smart glass,' a material that darkens automatically under bright conditions. When installed in display cases, smart glass reduces light exposure during peak daylight but remains clear when the galleries are dim. A recent trial showed that textiles behind smart glass faded less than those behind ordinary glass.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
For SAT questions about the function of a sentence, always read at least one sentence before and after the underlined portion. First, restate in your own words what the underlined sentence is doing (introducing an example, giving a result, defining a term, contrasting ideas, etc.). Then check how the surrounding sentences use that information—do they explain it, give evidence for it, or build on it? Finally, eliminate choices that describe a different kind of role (like “definition” or “contrast”) than what you actually see in the passage, and select the one that best matches both the underlined sentence and its relationship to the rest of the text.
Hints
Read before and after the underlined sentence
Reread the sentence just before and the two sentences just after the underlined portion. Ask yourself: what problem is introduced, and what is being done about it?
Ask what kind of information the underlined sentence gives
Does the underlined sentence give a definition, a result, a comparison, or does it present something new that is then explained later?
Check how later sentences use the idea in the underlined sentence
Look at how the later sentences talk about "smart glass." Do they explain it, test it, compare it, or just repeat it? That will tell you the role of the underlined sentence.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the underlined sentence actually says
Focus on the underlined sentence: "One approach relies on 'smart glass,' a material that darkens automatically under bright conditions."
In simple words, this sentence introduces an approach (a method) for solving the problem mentioned earlier, and briefly tells what smart glass does.
Connect it to the sentence before
Look at the sentence right before the underlined part: "Conservators therefore seek ways to display artifacts while minimizing damage."
That sentence sets up a goal or problem: conservators want a way to show artifacts but avoid light damage. The very next sentence (the underlined one) gives one specific way to try to solve this problem: using smart glass.
See what the following sentences do with that idea
Now read the sentences after the underlined one:
- "When installed in display cases, smart glass reduces light exposure during peak daylight but remains clear when the galleries are dim." — This explains how the smart glass method works.
- "A recent trial showed that textiles behind smart glass faded less than those behind ordinary glass." — This reports results that show how effective the method is.
So the later sentences explain the method in more detail and then assess it using a trial.
Match this role to the best answer choice
Putting it all together, the underlined sentence introduces a method (using smart glass) that the rest of the paragraph goes on to explain (how it works) and assess (by reporting the fading trial). This matches: It introduces a method that later sentences explain and assess.